The present invention is generally directed to a system for cooling electronic circuit components. In one aspect of the invention, an evaporator plate is provided which ensures uniform component cooling. In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermosyphon cooling system which provides a cooling mechanism while, at the same time, permitting close and compact placement of electronic circuit chip modules. In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooled, compact electronic system which permits placement of electronic modules in a dense configuration within the central portion of a computer frame assembly while, at the same time, providing air cooling capability in spite of the component density and access difficulty.
In various electrical and electronic systems, certain designs result in the generation of significant amounts of thermal energy which must be removed in order for the system to continue to function. When these systems are data processing devices, it is noted that the thermal load that results is also a function of the frequency at which the device is operated. For example, it is well known that a doubling in the frequency at which a device operates generally produces a doubling in the amount of heat which must be removed from the system.
Accordingly, as systems, particularly computer systems, are driven to operate at ever-increasing speeds, there is a corresponding need to provide improved cooling systems for these systems. Even more particularly with respect to data processing systems, their speed of operation is dependent upon providing short signal paths between various modules, chips and components. Accordingly, it is seen to be very desirable to place computer processing modules in relatively close proximity to one another and to memory modules. However, close and compact configurations of these modules can render it difficult to provide air-cooling capabilities especially when a relatively hot processing unit is surrounded by other peripheral components to which it is attached in a manner which provides as short a set of signal paths as is possible.
Accordingly, it is seen that it is very desirable to be able to cool computer systems in a manner which still permits close packaging of their electronic component modules and still maintain compatibility with frame size and with the thermal capabilities of various computer installations. It is also noted that this cooling should be provided in a manner which is effective yet reliable over relatively long periods of time, particularly when such systems are used in on-line transaction processing environments.
One of the ways proposed herein for cooling such systems is through the utilization of thermosyphon-based cooling units. Such units typically employ evaporators which are oriented in a vertical direction corresponding to placement of electronic modules within the system. Vertical placement is decidedly preferred in such systems since vertical module orientation facilitates any convectional cooling that occurs. However, this vertical placement forces the evaporator fins to be quite long and, accordingly, it is seen that the vertical orientation sometimes can result in the drying out of the coolant liquid at upper internal regions of the evaporator thus rendering that portion of the evaporator somewhat ineffective for its desired cooling purposes.